What is the documentary Black Start and who produced it?
Executive summary
Black Start is a 2017 independent documentary directed and produced by Patrea Patrick that examines vulnerabilities in the U.S. electrical grid—particularly threats from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events, cyberattacks and other natural or human-caused failures—and features interviews with security figures and commentators including Erika Kirk and former CIA director R. James Woolsey [1] [2] [3]. The film was made and distributed as an independent project by Patrick through her Heartfelt Films operation and has re-emerged in 2026 as a focal point for online misinformation that has mischaracterized it as a “buried CIA” briefing rather than a public documentary [4] [5].
1. What the film is about and who appears in it
Black Start centers on the systemic fragility of the American power grid and the catastrophic risks a long-term outage could pose, arguing that solutions exist but are insufficiently implemented by authorities; that synopsis appears in the film’s promotional materials and trailers [2] [5]. On-screen the documentary includes a mix of experts and commentators: reporting and social posts identify appearances by figures such as Erika Kirk (credited in some reports under earlier names), former CIA director R. James Woolsey, Jeanine Pirro and other policy and security voices who discuss EMPs, cyber threats and policy responses [1] [3] [6].
2. Who made it and how it was produced
Patrea Patrick is credited as the director, producer and a principal researcher behind Black Start; her filmmaking company and bios describe the film as the result of extensive independent research and production work tracing the story from Washington to state-level hearings and conferences [7] [5]. Multiple sources and festival/trailer listings show Patrick’s name as the primary creative force for the 2017 project, and public distribution has been through independent channels rather than government or classified venues [1] [2] [5].
3. Release, distribution and the “independent” thread
The documentary premiered publicly in 2017 and has been distributed through standard independent routes—festival screenings, YouTube clips and promotional trailers—rather than via classified briefings or official government channels, according to reporting and the filmmaker’s site [2] [5] [4]. Contemporary coverage of the film and its trailer on IMDb and the Heartfelt Films web page frames it as a public documentary intended to raise awareness and press for policy action on grid hardening [1] [5].
4. Why it resurfaced in 2026 and how misinformation spread
A clip from Black Start circulated widely in early 2026, prompting claims on social platforms that it was a “buried CIA video” or a leaked intelligence briefing; fact-checking and reporting by outlets including Hindustan Times and investigative posts trace the footage back to the public 2017 film and reject the buried-CIA framing [6] [4]. Independent reports emphasize that while some interviews were filmed earlier in the decade, the work is Patrick’s independent documentary and not an official intelligence production—an important distinction that social media posts obscured [4] [8].
5. What remains unclear from available reporting
Public reporting and the filmmaker’s materials document the film’s authorship, release year and subject matter, and identify many interview subjects, but detailed production financing records, a full list of interview dates or all distribution deals are not fully enumerated in the sources reviewed here; those specifics remain outside the available reporting and would require primary production paperwork or direct confirmation from the filmmaker to verify [5] [4].
6. Stakes and why it matters
The film’s reappearance matters because it demonstrates how archival documentary footage can be repurposed online to create misleading narratives about secrecy, authority and expertise; when a public documentary like Black Start is recast as covert intelligence material, it alters public perception of the speakers and the urgency of the topic without adding new evidence about grid vulnerabilities themselves [4] [6]. The original documentary’s documented aim was to push the grid-hardening conversation into public policy debates, a goal that remains central to understanding its production and intent [5].